Family Community Health Extension Program Leader Roberta Riportella is taking the public health discussion upstream into the policy realm. All Extension programs have opportunities to collaborate and think in terms of health impacts. Learn more about her plans to tackle wicked public health concerns in this month’s First Monday Update.

Speaking of well-being, Vice Provost Scott Reed encourages you to describe what you are doing to take care of yourself and reenergize this summer. Share your plans in the comment section below.

Scott welcomes Ana Lu Fonseca, University Outreach and Engagement’s assistant director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the newest member of the Division’s five-person executive team. She has energy, enthusiasm and ideas, including creating a team of Diversity Champions.

Post your suggestions and ideasbelow about what the team of Diversity Champions should consider to deepen our culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

The new OSU brand is more than the new logo. A consistent and powerful brand will increase awareness and support for the university’s mission of teaching, research and outreach. Undeniably, some patience will be required as tools and resources become available, but there is information to help you adjust to the new brand.

OSU Extension Service needs to evolve and innovate to serve Oregon and our communities. The eXtension iTeam is challenging us to think innovatively and they are providing the vehicle to amplify our innovative talents in a collaborative environment at the Innovate Extension 2017 event on May 23.

The University Outreach and Engagement Vice Provost Awards of Excellence celebration and luncheon event on April 17 also celebrates innovation, but this time its innovative outreach and engagement projects. Experience 15 award-winning projects from across the university. Register and learn more here.

Video produced by Stephen Ward, Extension and Experiment Station Communications, and edited by Jill Wells, Extension Administration

Wild Rivers Coast Alliance collaborates with Oregon State University on local seafood issues, invasive species and most recently on tourism. Scott Reed, vice provost for University Outreach and Engagement and director of OSU Extension Service, traveled to Bandon on the South Coast to meet the people and organization that offers office space and introductions to regional tourism collaborators to one of the newest positions in OSU Extension: Associate Professor Miles Phillips, tourism and business development specialist. Community partnerships are focused on helping the South Coast thrive.

Share with Scott in the comment section of this O&E blog post the partnerships you are building in your communities. In addition, let Scott know if you would like to have the First Monday video filmed in your community!

Community vitality and whiteboarding—yes, it is a real verb—come together in the February First Monday Video. Lindsey Shirley, associate provost of University Outreach and Engagement and associate director of OSU Extension Service, and Jeff Sherman, assistant director of University Outreach and Engagement, demonstrate their collective innovation and problem-solving process. They want your input into their community vitality process and outcome.

Share the projects and ideas you are whiteboarding, or invite Jeff and Lindsey to join you in a whiteboard session, in the comment section below.

Working in partnership with communities is essential to the mission and goals of University Outreach and Engagement. So essential, in fact, that three of the Division’s five strategic goals mention community. A prize awaits the first person to correctly identify and post them in the comments below. But more than that, what are new ways to engage our communities that we should begin planning for in the next legislative biennium? Scott wants your ideas.

There is an emerging tension between freedom of speech and acts of bias. Help University Outreach and Engagement define what a safe space means and how learning and equality can be optimized. Post your comments below.

To connect with underserved communities and encourage them to experience the great outdoors, Extension in Linn and Benton counties collaborate with community partners to produce “Get Outdoors Day.” Tune into this month’s video to learn how the event is relevant, fun and friendly to hundreds of kids and the Latino community.

Is there a project you think should be featured in a First Monday video? Reply by posting a comment or emailing jill.wells@oregonstate.edu.